Seireitei Academy
by Tazski
Summary: She's an A-grade nerd. Thick glasses, ragged black hair, baggy, boyish clothes, and nobody can tell if she's a guy or a girl. Most of all, she's anti-social, friendless, and reclusive. He's an orange haired delinquent, but he's also the hottest, most popular guy in school. Surely he couldn't fall for someone like her...right? Mainly IchiRuki, but other pairings too. M for language.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Haha, I shouldn't be posting new stories. I can't keep up with them. But I sorta need a break from being at uni, so I will therefore update as much as I can xD and this idea sort of came into my head and I couldn't get rid of it. I do have a rough outline though, so it's not entirely unplanned. It's entirely in Rukia's point of view, but I may choose to add others every now and again. Enjoy, and don't forget to review! Tell me how it is!**

**Oh, and there's another story with the same name as mine out there, but they're nothing alike. I'm not plagiarising or whatever. No association and so on.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach but I own Ichigo. Just kidding, I own neither Bleach or Ichigo unfortunately :(**

* * *

_Beep Beep Beep Beep._

I cracked my eyelids open, and banged my fist on my state of the art alarm clock before yawning widely and levering myself up from the soft floor. I pulled my thin, ragged blanket off me, rubbing my eyes, before sauntering off to the bathroom yawning all the while. After a quick shower and brushing my teeth, I put my glasses on (crudely mended with sellotape) and pulling on a baggy jumper and my favourite sweats, I traipsed down the stairs without further ado, my dark hair pulled into its usual messy bun.

I walked into the colossal dining room to find Nii-sama at the head of the table, hidden from view behind today's edition of the Tokyo Times as always, a jug of orange juice beside him. I sat down at the other end of the table, at which point Nii-sama looked up from behind his paper, his granite face as expressionless as ever.

"Good morning Nii-sama," I said, as was customary of me each morning, my voice sounding as meek and lifeless as ever.

"Good morning Rukia," he replied, his deep voice as monotonous as always, his gray, steely eyes fixed onto my blue ones. I listened to see what he would say next. "You shall finish your breakfast today as usual, and then you will come to see me in the study room at 10.30am sharp. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Nii-sama," I replied, intrigued. Nii-sama _never _called me to his study room, not unless it was a matter of extreme importance. I glanced at the clock, which currently read 10am. As I looked back towards the table, I saw that Nii-sama had disappeared behind his newspaper again, showing no sign that we'd had some form of conversation to begin with.

Just as usual, then.

I devoured my breakfast quickly, having not had dinner the previous night due to not feeling well, before washing my hands and ambling towards Nii-sama's study in my baggy jumper and sweats. That was the one thing I liked about Nii-sama- he let me do as I please, so long it didn't affect him as his work. And me wandering around in trampy clothing and sleeping on the ground opposed to a giant 4-poster was definitely not on his list of priorities. I stopped at the large, mahogany door, hesitating slightly, as I hadn't been in this part of the house since Nee-sama had disappeared 4 years ago. I knocked once, and after hearing the customary 'come in' I slowly pushed the door open, and stepped inside, and gasped a little.

The study hadn't changed at all in the last 4 years- it still held the rows upon rows of important- and ancient- looking books that I'd never read and probably wouldn't. Nii-sama was seated behind a large, mahogany desk, which was complimented by the same, dusty purple curtains that had adorned the floor length windows back when Nee-sama was around. His desk was as immaculately tidy as it had been then, the only thing son it being a pen and a small stack of papers, and a desk-light (currently off) at the opposite end of the table.

Nii-sama looked up from the document he was reading as I approached the desk, and putting it to one side, he gestured for me to sit down before speaking.

"Sit down, Rukia," he said. "I have a lot to discuss with you." I remained silent as I waited for him to speak further, knowing it would be rude of me to interrupt.

"You are aware that we have spent nearly 10 years in this house, correct?"

"Yes, Nii-sama," I replied dutifully.

"And four of those years have been spent in...trying circumstances," he continued, unwilling to say more. "Four years is a long time, is it not?"

"It is indeed," I agreed, thinking of how hard it had been to live without the same sister who'd brought me up.

"Which is why I have made an important decision. You are aware that a new branch of Kuchiki Corporation was opened last week, correct?"

"Yes Nii-sama. It is in New York, correct?"

"Manhattan," he corrected her. "It is now the biggest branch we have. Even bigger than the one we have in Tokyo. In order to promote better business and working relations between Japan and the US, I have decided that as CEO of Kuchiki Corporations, it would be my duty to oversee our overseas operation in the US,"

I didn't like the sound of where this was going. Nevertheless, I remained silent whilst Nii-sama continued.

"Our new branch is officially open- however, business has not resumed its normal cause- that is, the everyday on goings that is normal of a big business like ours. Even though our Manhattan branch is now open- it is I that shall be doing the inauguration this Monday, and overseeing the business itself. Do you have any questions, Rukia?"

I knew this was my turn to speak.

"If you're going to oversee our operations in Manhattan...does that mean you're moving there?" I asked, almost dreading the answer.

"Not I. We," he replied. "You and I shall be both moving to the US this weekend. Our flight is Saturday morning, that is to say, tomorrow morning. Does that answer your question?"

"Yes, Nii-sama," I replied, dazed. "But...what about school?"

"Your final year of highschool shall be completed at the prestigious Seireitei Academy in downtown Manhattan," he replied. "I wish for you to continue to be taught privately- and in this case, this is the best I could do. However, unlike your current school, you will also be residing in the dorms over there,"

_So basically...I'm moving out,_ I thought with some trepidation. I'd never lived away from home, before. And to do it for the first time in a foreign country...

"That will be all." Nii-sama concluded with some finality, which I realised as my cue to leave. I left the room, trembling slightly at the prospects of attending school at the other side of the world. I wasn't worried about leaving my friends, because put quite simply, I didn't have any, unless you counted all the maids here. But leaving everyone at home behind...

I was so lost in thoughts that I didn't see my personal maid, Marianne, calling out to me.

"Miss Kuchiki, are you okay?" she asked, concern in her eyes, as I opened the suitcase that Nii-sama had left me, piling my meagre collection of belongings, especially my beloved Chappy rabbit inside it.

"I'm fine," I replied, sighing, fondly stroking Chappy's fur.

"You're not taking that old rabbit with you, are you?"

I grimaced slightly at her. "There's no way I'm leaving Chappy behind. It's the only thing I have of Nee-sama..."

"You've had it a long time, though,"

"It's my only memory of Nee-sama," I replied sadly. Since she'd gone, Nii-sama had got rid of everything that had some sort of connection to her, photos, artwork, everything. All that was left was a photo that Nii-sama had in his possession, and my beloved Chappy, which had been given to me by Nee-sama when I was 8. I hugged Chappy tightly, before placing her gently into the suitcase and zipping it shut, and sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Miss Kuchiki, how do you feel about moving to New York?" Marianne asked me.

"I don't know," I replied truthfully. "It feels a bit...daunting, I suppose, considering I've never left Japan, and all of a sudden I'm moving to the other side of the world,"

"I'm sure it'll be okay," she replied, smiling. I couldn't help but smile back. I was closer to Marianne than anyone else here; she'd been my maid, but above all my best friend and confidante ever since I was younger. "You'll find people there to make friends with, I'm sure,"

I snorted. "Yeah, right," I shot back at her. "I've never been able to make friends over here, so why start now?"

"Who knows? You might meet people you actually want to be friends with, or even better..."

"Don't start that again, please," I groaned at her. Marianne had been in a steady relationship for the past year and was getting married next spring. "No offence, but just because the whole love thing happened to you, doesn't mean it'll happen to me too,"

"But you never know," she said excitedly, keen to pursue the topic. "I mean, don't you read romance novels all the time?"

"Not all the time," I emphasised, rolling my eyes. "Besides, those are books. Since when did those become a real-life guide?"

"There's no need to be so sceptical, Miss Kuchiki," she remonstrated, as I sighed once more. I'd told her to stick to calling me Rukia and not 'Miss Kuchiki' years ago, but she insisted on continuing to do so. "You never know what the future holds..."

The future. All I could see was the present, and the daunting prospect of moving abroad at the moment.

"That aside," Marianne continued, breaking into my thoughts. "I have a present for you. Consider it a good-bye gift, if you will,"

"Oh...you didn't need to-"

"Yes I did," she said fiercely. "Since I'm just a maid...well, I know I could never afford the sort of things you approve- things your brother approves of," she corrected hastily, feeling my glare. "But me and my family, as well as some of the other maids and their families thought it might be time for you to have one of these," she said with a small smile. She handed me a small, yet rather heavy (for its size) box wrapped in shiny blue paper. "Open it," she ordered.

Curious, I ripped the wrapping off and inside was a... new mobile phone? Not just any one, either. Marianne and the others had only just and got me the iPhone 4S.

"Oh wow," I said, opening the box and taking out my shiny new phone. "This is just...wow, I really don't know what to say," I admitted truthfully. These things cost a fortune.

"I know you don't really like these things," Marianne continued. She was right about that. Nii-sama would have gotten me this a long time ago if I wanted, only I decided against it because it would be a waste of time. Plus, I didn't have any friends...so why bother?

"But I thought it might be a way of remembering us. Besides, I put all our numbers on there, so you can call us whenever you want," she said rather sadly, her eyes sparkling. In that moment, I also felt myself being overcome with emotion and hugged her tightly, not wanting to let go.

"Thankyou," I whispered.

* * *

The rest of the night and the next morning went by in a blur, and before I knew it, I was waving goodbye to everyone, and climbing on to the small, custom plane that Nii-sama had hired for the journey. Looking out to the landscape for the last time, I sighed sadly, wondering if I'd ever see it again. The next 20 hours or so seemed to drag on endlessly, followed by proper-and-prim air hostesses feeding us the finest food, and so on and forth, whilst during the night, my dreams were punctured by endless nightmares of New York. At long last, the intercom announced that we would be touching down in JFK international airport in 15 minutes, and I strapped on my seatbelt, feeling extremely tired.

"What time is it?" I asked Nii-sama, who was sat beside me, reading a newspaper.

"4.04am local time," he replied. "You'll get the day off today, and tonight you'll move into your new dorm,"

The next few hours went by in a rush, and soon, we were driving up towards Seireitei Academy, where I would be spending the next year of my life before heading off to college.

I stepped out of the jeep with my suitcase and looked around. My first impression of Seireitei Academy was the sheer size- it was completely white, so bright that it dazzled me whilst the autumn sun shone down open me. Other than that, it was _huge. _The entrance was wide enough to admit 20 people side by side, and it was flanked by huge expanses grass, all immaculately cut and trimmed equally. In the far distance, I could see a group of people at the far end running around what must have been a track. The building was fairly old fashioned- a bit like a white-coloured Hogwarts- but nevertheless it looked impressive and new. Me and Nii-sama walked in to the cool interior which seemed equally as impressive- shiny mahogany tables, wide, open spaces with huge windows where the sunlight streamed in, students milling around. Of course, this was an academy, so people wandered around here even on Sundays. We approached the Reception area, where a kindly woman with a strong American accent asked me if I was okay. I replied in the affirmative.

"I'm new here, I'm supposed to be starting here tomorrow...I was wondering if I could get my schedule?"

"Sure sweetheart," the woman replied. "What's your name and what grade?"

"Um, Rukia Kuchiki and 12th grade," I answered.

"A new senior, huh? Shame this is your last year," the lady commented. I looked at her name tag, which read Mrs Wilkinson. She typed on the computer for a few seconds, and after a faint whirr of the printing, she handed me a piece of paper which presumably was my schedule.

"There you go love, good luck on your first day tomorrow,"

"Thanks." I smiled and walked away, heading towards my new dorm. Looking at the piece of paper, I saw that I had been listed as residing on Floor 6, dorm 8 of Hueco Mundo Hall. _Strange name,_ I thought to myself. Luckily Hueco Mundo Hall was close to campus, so I made my way up the floors in the shiny glass elevator, and in no time I was stood outside my new dorm. Breathing in deeply and wondering at what I would find inside, I scanned my new student card on the card reader and walked inside. The dorm was fashioned as a modern, state-of-the-art flat, and was massive. The low ceilings were dotted with spotlights, and the far end was decked with full-length windows adorned by blinds which provided a view of campus and the rest of the cityscape. The middle was adorned by a spiralling staircase, which I assumed led to the bedroom and bathroom. Downstairs, there was a huge lounge with comfy leather sofas and a large, 40-inch Samsung Smart TV and an xbox to play on. Perfect. The kitchen was at the other side of this floor, complete with stove, washing machine and dishwasher. I didn't even want to imagine how much it would cost for me to be living here. Lucky Nii-sama was paying for everything.

"I assume it is to your liking?" Nii-sama asked.

"It's great," I replied honestly.

"You will be residing with three other people," he continued, as my heart plummeted. _What sort of posh snobs will I be stuck with?_ I wondered. "But before you leave..." I looked at him. "I have something for you."

_A present for me? That's a first..._

He handed me a medium-sized, slim rectangular box, which was surprisingly weighty for its size. I sat down on one of the leather sofas and ripped off the wrapper, revealing a brand-new, 15" Mac Book Pro. My eyes widened- this particular laptop was the latest on the market and cost an absolute fortune. But then again, Nii-sama only accepted the best.

"Wow," I murmured, opening the sleek cover.

"This will help you with your studies," Nii-sama said to me, standing up. "Good luck," he told me, momentarily staring into my eyes with some unfathomable emotion before turning around and leaving. I put my new laptop back in its case, which Nii-sama had already gotten me, before heading upstairs to explore.

The upstairs was quite similar to downstairs- except that it had four beds, all in different corners. The first one immediately to my left had posters of celebrity men (most of them topless) adorning the walls behind it and a bunch of posters with tour dates. The one directly in front of me was covered in strange drawings of... food? Why food? I shrugged and looked at the third one, which was in the far right hand corner, which surprisingly seemed normal, the walls covered in pictures of lilies and other various flowers. The last bed, on my right, was plain and unadorned- which I assumed immediately was mine. I hid my laptop in my suitcase with my new phone and slid it under the bed, before kicking off my shoes and taking off my glasses, and still fully clothed, falling asleep immediately, and nightmares about my first day puncturing my land of dreams.

* * *

_The three girls walked into their dorm, exhausted._

_"Shit, we're kinda late," the girl in the middle said, her blonde hair falling across her curvaceous body. "We're gonna be in deep crap if we don't make it on time to class tomorrow,"_

_"Uh...yeah!" the auburn-haired girl on the right exclaimed, deep in thought. "We should get to sleep so I can make breakfast tomorrow!"_

_"Oh, there's no need!" The dark-haired, petite girl on the left said, waving her arms about. "That's my job!"_

_"But-"_

_"Just let her do it," the blonde said with a roll of her eyes to the auburn-haired girl, examining her pink nails. "I'm shattered tonight, I want my beauty sleep."_

_None of the girls argued, so they all traipsed upstairs to their beds- but not before catching a glimpse of the black-haired figure occupying the bed on the right._

_"Who's she?!" the blonde asked, confused._

_"Um..." the petite girl began. "Do you remember how we couldn't get a room for three?"_

_"Yeah..."_

_"Well, we were told we had to share with an extra person, remember?"_

_"Oh...yeah," the blonde answered, apparently recalling something. "Some new student from abroad or something. So this is her, then?"_

_"I think so," the auburn haired girl replied nervously._

_"Bless her, she's already asleep," the blonde answered. "The flight must've drained her, then. Night, girls," she said, putting the lights out._

_The girl with black hair slept on, oblivious to her surroundings._

* * *

_So, who do you think Rukia's new roomies are? And what do you think will happen next? Do leave your thoughts behind in a review :)_


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Omg, the response for this story was amazing! :D Just a quick warning, it's now Rated M (just in case) mainly for language. And there's a yaoi pairing (Grimmjow/Ulquiorra) but no lemons or stuff, I'm not like that. And it's just tiny flashes, nothing major, don't worry. I'm really trying to add the Highschool feel here.**

**Thankyou to everyone who subscribed/favourited/reviewed! This made me so happy :] so please, please do keep the reviews coming in, they make me so... HAPPY xD even if it's so say 'good story' or 'nice chapter' it'll make me go crazy with happiness :D and of course, the more reviews, the more motivated I am, quicker updates, more chapters etc. I just couldn't wait to update this :) tell me how the chapter is! (And if I've made any mistakes)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach**

* * *

The first thing I noticed was the silence. I opened my eyes to find sunlight streaming from the window opposite me, and the deafening quiet greeting me. I glanced around warily, finding the room strangely empty. Rooming with three other girls, I thought I would've heard a commotion or something. I slowly got out of bed, yawning, still tired from yesterday's journey, and noticed the undone beds of my fellow roommates (whoever they were). I was pretty sure they'd been done last night when I got in- which meant they must have come in whilst I was asleep and left before I'd woken up. How embarrassing.

I continued on with my usual routine- brushing my teeth, pulling on another baggy jumper and some pants, tying my hair back into its usual do, before slinging my new bag over my shoulder, and eventually leaving the flat. My watch read 8.35am- classes didn't start till 9, and it wasn't too far from where I was now. Or so I hoped.

I pulled out my class schedule, which read something like this:

HOMEROOM: , ROOM 103

MATH: , ROOM 204

PSYCHOLOGY: , ROOM 118

ENGLISH LIT.: , ROOM 415

CHEMISTRY: , ROOM 612

BIOLOGY: , ROOM 308

P.E: , GYM

I shook my head disdainfully, wondering what sort of day I would have today. Of course, being the nerd I was, I was in all AP classes, which didn't come as a surprise to me. I walked down the clean, brightly lit hallways, examining the strange sort of people that studied here. Strangely enough, instead of the posh, uniform-bound posh snobs I expected, the sort of people I saw here were...normal. Pretty much what I'd expect from an ordinary high school, really. Ducking my head, I pushed my way through the chattering, smoking, basketball-playing students in an attempt to make my way to Homeroom. I was glad that I'd set out early- the crowds of people was making it almost impossible for me to navigate through. Instead, I stood back and watched the crowd.

Apart from the basketball playing idiots who had almost broken my glasses, there was a busty blonde chatting up the Math teacher, a gay couple making out- one of the guys having bright blue hair- a group of girls giggling about whatever they got up to last night, a group of guys nearby ogling them, one of them with the weirdest carrot-coloured hair, people throwing paper airplanes about...

After the crowd subsided a little, after a couple of minutes, I continued to make my way down the hall, only to be barred by a group of other girls. This group weren't sat about, giggling though. As I looked on, I noticed that a young, mousy-haired girl was sobbing quietly, a dark-haired girl near her shouting something at her. I moved in to listen to what was happening, taking care to remain as anonymous as possible.

"You _ruined_ it, you cow!" the dark haired girl was yelling, her green eyes strangely bright. "Do you have any freakin' idea how much my skirt cost? Well lemme tell 'ya, it cost a whole $400!"

"I'm... I'm sorry Rhianne-chan, I didn't mean to spill it over you!" the mousy haired girl replied reproachfully, holding what looked like an empty cup of coffee.

"Yuzu, you stupid cow, I'll make you _pay_," Rhianne snarled, grabbing what looked like a trashcan. "I swear I'll make your life a living hell!"

"I said I was sorry!" Yuzu sobbed. "It was an accident-" and without warning, Rhianne upended the trashcan over Yuzu, leaving her crying, humiliated and embarrassed. The onlookers burst out into laughter, chanting horrible things, before leaving the poor girl alone and embarrassed. I rushed forward, feeling a rush of sympathy towards her.

"I said I was sorry!" Yuzu exclaimed once more, as I approached her.

"You don't need to apologize to me," I said as gently as I could. "Come on, let's get this cleaned up," and with that, I dragged her away to the nearest girl's bathroom before anyone could say anything more. Mercifully the bathroom was silent, and I was able to help Yuzu wipe off most of the dirt in relative silence. We both remained quiet for a while, until she spoke first.

"Thankyou," she whispered quietly.

"Uh...it's okay," I replied, slightly embarrassed. "You don't need to thank me or anything,"

"I'm Yuzu, by the way," she continued, a sweet smile on her face. "Yuzu Kurosaki,"

"Rukia Kuchiki," I answered, smiling back.

"Are you new here, Rukia-chan?" Yuzu asked, curious, as she continued to wipe away.

"Yeah, I only moved here yesterday,"

"Are you a senior?"

"Yes,"

"I'm only a freshman," she replied nervously. "Wait, if you're a senior, you might meet my brother!"

"Your brother? Who-"

The door burst open, and a girl with black hair and grey eyes rushed in.

"Yuzu! I heard what happened, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Karin-chan," Yuzu answered with relative confidence.

"Who's she?" Karin asked, glaring at me pointedly. Well, I couldn't blame her, really, after what had happened.

"Oh, this is Rukia-chan," Yuzu said, a little breathlessly. "She helped me clean up,"

Despite this answer, Karin continued to glare at me.

"Um...Karin-chan is my twin sister," Yuzu broke in, hesitating slightly. I raised an eyebrow in surprise- I couldn't have found two more opposite people.

"Fine," Karin answered curtly, finally taking her eyes off me. "C'mon Yuzu, we're gonna be late," and with that, she dragged her sister along with her, leaving me alone. Sighing, I picked up my things and left the bathroom.

* * *

It took me another 10 minutes to find Room 103, and after several misguided directions, I finally found the room. Breathing in deeply, I pushed open the door and walked inside.

Unfortunately, Homeroom had already begun and class was already full- so when I entered, despite the ruckus, everyone's head swivelled to face me. The expressions ranged from curiosity to amusement, to even creepiness- mainly from a pink-haired guy in the far corner. My teacher, a long, white-haired guy, looked up at me.

"Oh, to whom do we owe this pleasure?" he asked, in what was a gentle voice.

"Um..." I replied, not knowing what to say. "Sorry I'm late," I began, rather sheepishly. He continued to smile at me in a warm way, before speaking.

"That's quite alright, Miss...?"

"Kuchiki," I answered. "Rukia Kuchiki." A few eyebrows shot up at this, and I inwardly sighed, realising that Nii-sama's fame must have reached all the way here by now.

"Byakuya Kuchiki's sister, am I correct?"

"Yes," I replied once more, feeling slightly edgy.

"Welcome to Seireitei Academy, Rukia, I sincerely hope you enjoy your final year here," he continued, in that warm manner of his.

"Thanks," I answered rather quickly, everyone's eyes still on me.

"Hmm, you need somewhere to sit...I'm afraid the only open seat is next to Szayel at the back," he sighed, almost regretfully. With a jolt of horror I realised that he was gesturing towards the creepy-looking guy from before, the one with the ridiculous pink hair. Trembling slightly, I edged my way past the tables towards him, before gingerly sitting down on the plastic chair, trying hard to ignore the stares he was giving me.

"Ohai there," he said, in what was a poorly disguised seductive purr. "Well, aren't ya an interesting species?"

"Species?" I managed to stutter out. I hated to admit it, but this guy was creeping me out pretty bad.

"Veerrrryyy interesting," he whispered, leaning in closer, his glasses almost touching my head, before looking down at my chest. "You obviously have nothing up there, it should be interesting to see how that affects your obviously interesting personality..."

'_I wish he'd stop saying 'interesting',' _I found myself thinking_. 'As if I'm just some object to leer at...what a disgusting creep,'_

"So mebbe if you came over to mine later, I could conduct some eh...tests on you, I promise it won't hurt," he was saying, leering at me. I looked around at him, glaring back. The bloody _nerve_-

"Oi," a distinctly female voice called out, breaking my train of thought. I looked up to see a curvaceous, teal-haired girl standing over us, a formidable glare on her face. "Get up, Szayel," she ordered, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Ey, I was just playin' about with her," he defended, shaking his head before straightening his glasses.

"I know _perfectly well_ what you were trying to do, Szayel," she snapped, clicking her fingers. "Now get out of- what the hell is that?"

"Uh, nothing," he answered quickly, stowing his hand in his pocket.

"Hand it over," she said sternly, before grabbing his hand and wresting from him a tiny doll that looked suspiciously like-

"Is that a voodoo doll of _me_?" I exclaimed, jumping away from Szayel. "When did he-"

"Don't worry," the girl assured me, with an air that suggested he'd done this multiple times before. "It doesn't do anything- it's just his way of greeting people,"

"That's just ridiculous," I muttered.

"I know," she sighed. "Oi, Szayel, why don't you go sit with Grimmjow or something?"

"I'm not sitting with that fag!"

"_Language_," she replied sternly.

"How the hell is that bad language? They're gay, everyone knows that at night they fu-" at that point, the girl clamped her hand over Szayel's mouth, for which I was merciful. I really didn't need to hear that kind of thing on my first. Luckily, he eventually took the hint and moved over to a guy with a giant head.

"Oi, Spoony!" he shouted out to the guy, who was pretty much twice my height even when sitting down.

"Shut the fuck up! I told 'ya my name's Nnoitra! You stupid pink-haired faggot, why don't you go fuck someone over?"

"Did someone say Nnoitra's _gay_?" The blue-haired boy from earlier in the corner shouted out. '_He has some nerve saying that, being gay himself,_ I thought, shaking my head.

"Nobody said anything about Nnoitra being gay," the black-haired guy next to him answered, who, for some strange reason was wearing excessive amounts of talcum powder and black/green eyeliner. "Although I can't say I would be surprised if that piece of trash also turned out to be a homosexual," he finished, to much protesting on Nnoitra's part.

"Shut it, Ulqui," the blue-haired boy said, smirking.

"As you wish, Grimmjow," he answered monotonously. "I do prefer you calling me Ulquiorra, though,"

I turned away, not wanting to hear anymore of the conversation, and instead turned to the teal-haired girl next to me.

"Does this happen every day?" I asked her, in a sort of whimper.

She nodded almost regretfully. "I'm used to it though, since we all pretty much grew up together,"

My eyes widened. "_All_ of you?" I asked. No wonder she was the way she was.

"Me and Tier were the only girls," she explained, gesturing at a dark-skinned blonde with skimpy clothing. "Oh, I'm Nel, by the way,"

"I'm Rukia,"

"So I heard. Your brother owns Kuchiki Corporation, right?"

"Yeah," I sighed, as we continued to converse about various things. I managed to glean that Nel had grown up with boys all her life, with the exception of Tier who she didn't talk to much anyway. She seemed to be relieved at talking to someone like me for a change.

"The boys here aren't all bad," she said after a while. "Just these lot, mainly. I know some pretty nice ones, like "Chad, Ishida, Itsygo even,"

"Itsygo?" I asked, confused. "What kind of name is that?"

"It's Ichigo, actually, but I call him Itsygo," she laughed. "It really irks him, but he doesn't say anything about it.

"Is he here?"

"Here? No, he's not in Homeroom with us. Hey, show me your schedule?" I obliged, and she pulled out her own, comparing the two. "Hmm," she said after a few seconds. "Looks like the only class you have with me is Biology. I suggest you sit as far as you can from Aizen-sensei, he just gives you these really creepy looks all the time. Same with Kyoraku-sensei, he's a pervert and keeps calling you 'sweetheart' all the time..." she sounded disgusted, and who could blame her? I decided I'd take her advice. The bell rang seconds later, and the class trooped out, chattering loudly.

"See you later?" Nel asked, waving at me.

"Yeah," I replied waving back, feeling strange now that I'd made my first friend. What was stranger that it'd been so easy, and I'd quite enjoyed it. Perhaps having friends wasn't entirely a bad thing. I looked at my schedule to see that I had Math next, so I slowly made my way to Room 204 for my next class, sincerely hoping it would be a normal one.

* * *

**Next Chapter: Ichigo and Rukia meet. They will, I swear :] so keep the reviews, follows, all that coming in! Thankyou :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I know this chapter is even shorter than last time xD but the first two chapters were long just to set the story and all. Most of my chapters will be this length. First of all, thankyou so much to everyone who favourited/reviewed/subscribed! You people are truly amazing :D **

**Okay, I need a little bit of help. I'm not sure how to pace this story- so far, I'm writing about Rukia's first day. But my story will incorporate what happens in the whole school year, so how do you think I should pace it? Suggestions are welcome, just drop a review or something. Reviews are welcome, by the way :)**

**I'm sorry if this chapter isn't as enjoyable...but yeah, here you go**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach**

* * *

I knew something was amiss the moment I stepped inside.

When I pushed the heavy classroom door, the first thing I caught sight of was the busty blonde from earlier, sat on the edge of the teacher's wooden desk, in what was clearly a provocative manner. I frowned a little, before hurrying to my seat as fast as I could in a safe corner. I didn't have to wait long; it was quite literally seconds before the rest of the class began filing in, chattering away about their weekend.

I remained stationary in my corner, hoping nobody would spot me- of course, my wish wasn't granted. Instead, all I got was whispers and funny looks; except for the boy with the ridiculous carrot hair from earlier who stalked right past me, frowning, before slouching in his seat at the back of the class. Unmistakably, the news about me being the sister of the owner of Kuchiki Corporations had spread like wildfire by now. The Math teacher, the strange silvery-haired guy from before, walked in, his eyes shut permanently, a wide grin on his face. How the heck could he expect to see?

Instead, he took his place at the desk, completely oblivious to the busty blonde perched on his desk- but after a few moments sorting out files and whatnot, he struck up a conversation with her.

"Ah, Rangiku!" He exclaimed, his tone cheery yet playful at the same time.

"Hiya Gin," she replied, smirking at him, pouting her lips slightly. "So, how was your weekend?"

"Well, it was good...although it would have been better if you'd been there too..."

I turned away from the conversation, not really listening, shaking my head at the same time, feeling slightly bemused. Why on earth was she flirting with the Math teacher? Weren't Math teachers supposed to be boring and nerdy, like me? That thought aside, I put my head down and worked through each of the problems swiftly, finishing at least 15 minutes before class ended. As was customary, I walked up to the desk which Rangiku was _still_ perched on- before slapping my problems down onto the surface.

"Oh?" Gin- or should I say Gin-_sensei_- finally looked up from his conversation, regarding me with a slightly perplexed expression. It was hard to tell, with that euphoric- and slightly creepy- grin of his. "You're finished, then?"

_No, then,_ I wanted to say. Instead I replied with a meek 'yes'. By now, the class's attention was on me. Probably wondering how the nerd girl managed to get all the questions finished with 15 minutes to go, a feat that surely wasn't normal around here.

Gin examined my paper for a few minutes, ticking with a red pen here and there, before sitting back, seemingly satisfied, holding my paper.

"My, my, you're quite the genius, aren't 'ya? Wouldn't expect any less from Byakuya Kuchiki's sister, either," he said, handing my paper back, which I clutched tightly before striding back to my seat as fast as I could, before burying my head in my arms and feigning sleep to block out the stares of my classmates. As soon as the bell rang, I was the first one out, hugely relieved to have escaped the musty confinements of the Math classroom.

* * *

Psychology, thankfully, was a normal class- except for the obviously covert looks Aizen-sensei kept shooting at the girls, especially, who weren't any better, with their gushing whispers about how hot he was. Hot? Creepy, more like. Even more so than Gin-sensei. After my break, I looked at my schedule, hiding a smile. I had English Literature next, a personal favourite of mine, as I loved reading books. Well, there'd been nothing else to do in my childhood, as Nii-sama had expressly forbidden me to play outside with the other kids. So I'd sat inside and immersed myself in Nee-sama's huge collection of books, and was by now familiar with most classic and contemporary works, be it plays or novels.

The class was nearly full by now; since I'd misjudged the time I had for break and was running almost 5 minutes late. I burst into the classroom, panting slightly, and glasses slightly askew; to much staring and muttering again. If this kept up, I'd become some sort of infamous celebrity around here. My teacher, a flamboyant-looking male with bright pink flowery robes peeked from beneath his straw hat. He swung his legs off the table, looking at me as though I was an adorable object.

"Ahh, you must be the new student, Rukia-chan!" He exclaimed in what was a badly disguised seductive purr.

"Um...yes," I muttered, not sure of what to say. He looked around the class for a moment, trying to find me a seat, before answering.

"Unfortunately, the only open seat is next to Ichigo Kurosaki over there," he said, pointing to an empty desk next to...The carrot-haired guy?!

He frowned slightly as I grudgingly made my way to the desk, plopping down onto the chair with a huge sigh before looking away from him, pulling out the copy of _Othello_ we were supposed to be studying.

"You're new, huh," came a voice. It took me a moment to realise that the guy was talking to me. In the moment I'd been pulling out my textbook, he'd put on a pair of black-framed glasses, making him look like an orange-haired owl. I fought the urge to laugh, but instead adopted a poker face.

"What?" He asked, scowling, obviously noticing my poor attempt to disguise my laugh.

"No need to scowl," I muttered, feeling slightly annoyed. Well, there was no need for him to frown at me every time he looked at me, was there?

"I wasn't _scowling_," he muttered back, sounding exasperated. I hid a quick grin, for some unknown reason, I was enjoying it. I decide to infuriate him further.

"Yes you were, see how your eyebrows were knitted together?"

"What do my _eyebrows_ have to do with this?" he replied, his tone incredulous. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

I shrugged. "I'm perfectly normal, th-"

"Alright, alright, settle down," the teacher, who I finally remembered was called Kyoraku-sensei. "Now, who can tell me how love is presented in _Othello_?"

The guy next to me, who I seem to remember was called Ichigo, put up his hand. I raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.

"Shakespeare presents love as a destructive tool; in that it can be manipulated to destroy relationships rather than make them," he answered confidently, hinting that he was rather good at the subject.

"Very good, as always, Mr Kurosaki," Kyoraku-sensei replied approvingly.

"I wasn't expecting him to know that," I mumbled without realising.

"You weren't?" Ichigo answered, trying to conceal a smirk. "Well, sorry to disappoint 'ya then,"

"I didn't say anything!" I replied hotly. Why was this guy making me lose my temper all of a sudden? I wasn't really one to get angry easily; perhaps, being the sister of a fairly well-known guy automatically meant that getting on my bad side was not allowed. However, this guy had completely disregarded that and irritated me anyway.

"Says the midget," he muttered darkly.

That did it.

"You're the one with the stupid carrot hair!"

"_What_ did you-"

"Yare, yare," Kyoraku-sensei called out, breaking up the almost imminent fight. "Stop bickering like an old married couple, would 'ya?"

"But we weren't-" I began, before being cut off. Kyoraku-sensei continued to smile at me knowingly.

"It's okay, Rukia-chan," he said gently. "Mr Kurosaki can be like that sometimes. But be careful,"

Careful? What was he talking about? It was then I realised that a lot of the girls were shooting envious looks at me, especially a purple-haired girl who was literally staring daggers at me. Remembering a scene from earlier, it had seemed that Ichigo was one of the popular guys. Well, it wasn't really my business, was it?

At that point, Kyoraku-sensei grabbed a bottle of what looked suspiciously like alcohol, much to the protests of his prim-and proper assistant, Nanao-sensei.

"_Where_ did you get that from?" she demanded. "How many times have I told you you're not allowed to drink in class!"

"Nanaaaao-chan...don't be such a spoilsport... *hic*" he slurred, before falling asleep on the chair.

I spent the rest of the lesson texting everyone back home, but try as hard as I might, I couldn't get rid of the stares penetrating my gaze. What was it with girls over here? I decided the best idea would be to make a run for it and retreat to the library; surely nobody would find me there. As soon as I got up to leave, though, I was stopped by a voice.

"You're Rukia Kuchiki, right?" Ichigo asked. As if he didn't know already.

"Yeah," I mumbled.

"Ichigo Kurosaki," he answered. Wait..._Kurosaki?_ The name rang a bell. Oh, hang on...

"Wait, do you know someone called Yuzu?" I asked, curious.

"Huh? Yeah, she's my sister," he answered. "How do you know her?"

"I met her this morning," I replied, unwilling to say anymore.

"Oh, cool. See ya, then," and with that, he walked off, a gaggle of giggling girls following him. I made a mental note to stay as far away from him as possible.

* * *

**What did you think of the meeting between Ichigo and Rukia? Yeah, I think Ichigo was a little too nice. But I think he deserved it this time round ;)**

**Who do you think the purple haired girl (who was 'glaring daggers') was? Oops, I think I gave it away...**

**Next chapter: Rukia meets her roomies! (And more) free chocolate to whoever can guess both the purple haired girl's name and Rukia's roomies ;D**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Wow, I'm on a roll today! Haha. I'm not entirely sure what to think of this chapter... I think I like it. I think. Anyway, do read and enjoy... and review :D**

**Quite a few people managed to guess who Rukia's roomies are and who the purple haired girl is. So congratz, here's your free choccy. :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach! *spoiler below***

**RIP Genryuusai Shigekuni Yamamoto**

* * *

Whoever thinks that things always go to plan is an idiot.

The rest of the day went by in seemingly normal fashion- a first for me today. Chemistry was led by a rather… _eccentric_ man by the name of Kurotsuchi, and his assistant/daughter, Nemu. He had a rather strange obsession with scientific obsessions (sound like anyone else I know?) and was dressed in the strangest way, with heavy multicoloured makeup and a fancy wig. He seemed to think he was a real scientist rather than a highschool teacher, because he kept muttering random theories to himself and ordering Nemu to fetch his equipment at odd intervals.

Unohana-sensei was probably the most normal teacher I'd met all day- with the exception of Ukitake-sensei, because she could make hell freeze over with one glare. This I experience just 10 minutes into the class, whilst in the middle of a conversation with Nel.

"Now, who can tell me what the function of this part is?" Unohana-sensei asked, oblivious to the giggles coming from the back of the classroom. Her dark eyes swept once across the classroom before landing on a group of boys consisting Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, Szayel and Nnoitra, who were all roaring with laughter about something. Well, except Ulquiorra, who remained as passive as ever. I don't think he was about to crack a smile anytime soon.

"Szayel?"

"Uh… for _stuff_," he answered, smirking.

Unohana-sensei simply stared at him.

"It's painstakingly obvious that 4 years of education have been wasted on you, Szayel," she continued in her kindest voice. "Of course, that's the only answer you can give, since you've never needed to know what that part actually does,"

There was a stunned silence as everyone realized what had just been said. As if on cue, Grimmjow and Nnoitra burst out laughing once more, Szayel looking slightly perplexed.

"Haha, she's calling you a fag!" Grimmjow shouted whilst Nnoitra let loose a host of lurid innuendos about everything from Szayel's glasses and hair to his shoes.

"Fags get action too," Szayel answered, returning to his usual self.

"I believe the correct term is virgin," Ulquiorra chipped in. Everyone turned around to stare at him in total shock, including Grimmjow and Nnoitra who simply stared at him, mouths gaping open, in total silence, for the first time that day.

"What?" Ulquiorra responded to the looks of total incredulity. "Everyone knows about Szayel, of course,"

"Blimey, I never thought I'd be proud of you, but here I am, being proud," Grimmjow stated after finally founding his voice, a wide grin on his face.

"Shut up Grimmjow," Ulquiorra advised his boyfriend, who surprisingly listened to him. I couldn't help but smirk a little, and turned to Nel who looked as though this happened every day.

"Is Unohana-sensei allowed to say things like that?" I murmured, confused. "Wouldn't she get into trouble?"

"Oh, there's nothing wrong with what she said," Nel replied airily, watching the scene with some interest. "Unohana-sensei's clever like that. She never says this sort of thing out loud; more like _implies _it so no-one can incriminate her for it. If anyone dared to, which I don't think they would,"

"But-"

"Come on Rukia, if you were to tell the Principal what she said, wouldn't it sound ridiculous?"

I gave a sort of nervous laugh, thinking for a moment.

"I suppose so," I answered finally.

I made another mental note to never get on Unohana-sensei's bad side.

* * *

After class ended, I made my way to the gym changing rooms- only to be barred by an angry-looking purple-haired girl- co-incidentally the same girl that had been glaring daggers at me through English.

"I know what you're trying to do, Rukia," she started, her tone snide, as soon as I approached her, a look of extreme disgust on her face. "_Don't_ think you can get away with it either," she added in an unmistakably threatening undertone.

"What?" I asked, confused. I wasn't sure of what I'd done to earn her wrath.

"You stupid, little-"

"Cut it _out,_ Senna," came a loud voice, accompanied by a slim female with spiky black hair. "Give her a _break,_ will 'ya?" she added, sounding exasperated.

"Tatsuki, you know what I do to people like _her_," she sneered, glaring at me some more.

"I'm not aware she did anything wrong," Tatsuki answered in a casual voice.

"If she so much as comes _near_ Ichigo-"

"So, that's what this is about?" Tatsuki challenged, her voice suddenly louder.

"She'll suffer the same fate if she's not careful," Senna snarled, before stalking off to get changed.

"The last time a girl flirted with Ichigo, Senna broke her arm," Tatsuki added nonchalantly.

"She _what_?" I added, my tone incredulous. "But why?"

"She's incredibly, uh… possessive, I suppose," Tatsuki said, shrugging.

"So… are they dating?" I asked, perplexed why someone like Ichigo, who seemed pretty okay, would date a cow like Senna. Maybe he was the type that went for looks.

"Goodness, no," Tatsuki answered. "She'd be so much worse if they were!" I couldn't help but privately agree.

"She likes to act if Ichigo is her boyfriend, though,"

"How does Ichigo feel about it?"

"That's the thing," Tatsuki answered with a sigh. "I don't know. In fact, I don't think he really knows either,"

"Surely he must realize there's something going on if Senna behaves the way she is?"

"I don't think he really cares," Tatsuki admitted a little sadly.

"Why don't you ask him then?"

"Well, Ichigo's my best friend," she began. "And if I told him, he'd have to talk to Senna, which might… complicate things, and upset him. Which I don't want to do. Anyway, why mend something that's not broken?"

"Oh… okay," I replied, slightly confused. "We should go, we'll be late,"

"Yeah. And don't worry Rukia, she's only a black belt in karate," she said, smirking at me.

_Don't worry? Black belt? Was Tatsuki immune to pain, or what?_

"_Only _a black belt?" I said, my voice slightly shaky. Her smirk grew wider, into a full-blown grin.

"_She's _only a black belt. I'm a third dan," she said.

From then on, me and Tatsuki became friends. It was one of those things that just… happened, really. Mutual dislike for the same person certainly helped. And strangely enough, I was beginning to feel at home here already, more than I had done back at the old manor. Shaking my head slightly, I trudged off to the gym.

* * *

It turned out that I was awful at volleyball. I kept getting smacked on the knee, my glasses sliding down my nose due to sweat, to the point that they eventually just fell off and I was hobbling off the court by the end of class. I think Senna tried really hard to get me, but Tatsuki was on my team, watching my back, for which I was grateful. Gym had never really been one of my strong points. After saying goodbye to Tatsuki, I made my way back to my room, feeling slightly nervous at what- or who I would find there. Swiping my card, I opened the door to find the room already occupied.

The blonde who had been flirting with the math teacher- Rangiku- was sprawled across the leather couch watching what looked like a cheesy rom-com, her eyes glued to the screen. Nearby was an auburn-headed girl shouting at the screen about something that sounded like aubergines, and a small girl about my size with equally as dark hair was eating popcorn, silently enjoying the movie.

At my entrance two of the girls looked up, the aubergine-girl still screaming about vegetables, curious expressions on their faces.

"My, my," Rangiku said with some intrigue, swinging her long legs off the couch and approaching me. "So you're our new roomie, eh?"

"Uh… yes," I answered, rather meekly. Rangiku smiled, and before I could protest, pulled me into a bone crushing hug.

"You're soooo adorable, just like Momo! Awwww, aren't you a cutie!"

I was finding it hard to breathe at this point, and I uselessly tried to flap my arms about, but it didn't work.

"Um… I…"

"Rangiku-san, you're crushing her," came a soft voice. At the sound of the voice, Rangiku immediately let go of me, and surveyed me with curiosity, as though I was a piece of clothing or something.

"Sorry," she answered, not sounding sorry at all. Funnily enough, I didn't mind.

"I'm Momo, by the way," the girl who had spoken said, smiling at me. "And that's Orihime-san," she continued, jabbing a finger over to the auburn-headed girl who had finally switched off the TV and joined the troup.

"Hi, Rukia-chan!" she exclaimed, waving her arms about like a windmill. "Pleasure to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too, all of you," I answered, feeling tired. It had been a long day and I just wanted to rest. My roommates seemed nice enough, though, at least I didn't have Senna as a roommate. They all took the hint though, and let me trudge upstairs to get some rest.

"Come down for dinner when you feel like it!" Rangiku called out. "Or maybe not, Orihime's cooking tonight…" she added, taking no notice of Orihime's reproach. At that point, I drifted off, and fell asleep on the covers fully dressed, not having recovered entirely from jet-lag the previous day.

"_Hey! My cooking isn't that bad!"_

"_We are not having chocolate and leek soup today, let me get that straight, Orihime,"_

"_But it's delicious!"_

"_I'll be okay with some ramen, actually," Rangiku added thoughtfully._

"_Why don't we order out?" Momo suggested._

"_Hmm, good idea," Rangiku said, agreeing with the girl. "I wonder what Rukia would want though?_

"_Why don't we ask?" Orihime chipped in? _

_Slowly, the three girls made their way upstairs, eager to talk to their roommate, only to find her fast asleep._

"_Bless her, she's already asleep," Rangiku said. "Well, let's go order some ramen anyway, shall we?"_

* * *

**Uh, right. XD I had to make Senna a bitch, because there's always a bitch. Now don't tell me my writing is too cliche, I can assure you it won't be cliche D: but high school stories aren't the same without a resident bitch! Now don't get me wrong, I don't hate Senna in the least (I know some of you do though and I don't blame you XD) but well, I don't think Orihime would have fit the role.**

**Please do review :]**

**Tazski**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hey, sorry it's been so long! I've had a lot going on. Inspiration smacked me about an hour ago and I got this chapter done in a whirlwind of motivation. I had a vague idea, but suddenly the outline of the chapter came to me... **

**Thankyou to everyone who has favourited/subscribed/reviewed this story! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach *spoiler below***

**ICHIGO WENT TO SEE RUKIA. OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG. That panel where he was yelling for her just made my entire week, and I can't stop fangirling :') sooo cute... and how Rukia noticed he was upset before anyone else did... I almost fainted. Honestly and truly.**

**Kubo trolled us with Byakuya being alive! But it's good to know he's not dead. And Kyoraku would make the best Soutaichou, in my opinion.**

**Onwards!**

* * *

_The silhouette stood framed against the rapidly darkening night sky, her dark hair blowing gently in the wind, a simple white dress adorning her. Rukia frowned a little, curious, before gingerly climbing up the slightly sloping hill to meet the woman. As she approached the woman, the waves crashing distinctly in the background, the woman turned towards her, and the scene changed. Instead of a moonlight night by the sea, Rukia saw that instead she and the woman were suspended in midair in a large, white space. The lighting was neither bright nor dim, but just about correct._

_Feeling slightly apprehensive at this point, Rukia approached the woman, who seemed to be muttering to herself. It was then that she realized that she couldn't actually see the woman; but faint flickers of her._

_"Save me…" she whispered. "Help me…"_

_"Who are you?" Rukia asked, her small voice echoing around the suspended dimension._

_"Please, help me," she begged, her voice becoming clearer. As Rukia waited, the woman came into focus, slowly, bit by bit, until she found herself staring at a mirror image of herself._

_In that second, the image of the suspended dimension shattered, and she found herself back at the hill by the sea, the air rich with screams. The sky was tinted with the colours of sunset as the large, radiant sun continued to creep beneath the horizon, the ground shaking slightly, increasing with intensity as each second passed._

_With a jolt that ran through her as fiercely as an electric shock, Rukia noticed that the sea was gently crashing over the shore in waves of blood._

* * *

My eyes snapped open, and I blinked a few times, feeling slightly disorientated. I gasped slightly, my heart hammering, as I struggled to get my eyesight in focus. With some alacrity, I picked up my glasses and jammed them on, just to assure myself that I wasn't still dreaming.

I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror, scrutinizing myself closely. Several weeks had passed since joining Seireitei Academy, yet nothing much had changed. On the outside I was still the same, pale, pinched girl that had arrived from the other side of the world not long ago. Yet, I felt something inside me had changed. I had friends- not just people who worked for me, but real friends. I'd developed a nice schedule too; I usually walked up to school with Rangiku, Orihime and Momo, hung out with Nel and Tatsuki (who, it turned out, were close friends) and usually spent most of my lunch in the library. The girls kept asking me to join them, but I kept refusing, and after some time they dropped the subject- there were only so many times you could ask. Besides, I needed some quiet time too.

Senna kept shooting her dangerous glares at me, as always, but I ignored them- I soon realized she was mean to everyone, not just me, excepting Tatsuki and Nel, and for good reason too. But I'd followed what I'd promised myself after my first English lesson- that I would stay as far away from Kurosaki Ichigo as possible. I just didn't want, or need that kind of hassle. We usually talked during lessons, but after that first lesson I'd resorted only to talking to him if I really needed to- which wasn't often. He was seen prowling the library and reading Shakespeare like me often, but I didn't say anything, and neither did he. And that's how I liked it.

Too bad you don't always get you want.

It was a crisp week in early November, and an adequate amount of frost was covering the ground that had stuck to it the night before. My roommates had left early to go chase something or the other- so it was alone that I made the journey to school, the leaves from autumn crunching satisfactorily beneath my feet. This was one thing I enjoyed- stepping on leaves, and hearing the telltale crunch. Before long, I was stepping out of my path, stepping on every single leave I laid my eyes on.

It wasn't long before I heard another set of footsteps doing the same; only these were heavier than mine- so I assumed they must be male.

Sure enough, across from me, Kurosaki Ichigo was going out of his way to step on every crunchy leaf he found. Shaking my head, I began to take a step, when his voice stopped me.

"Rukia?" he called out, genuine curiosity in his voice. Sensing that I had no choice but to go over to him, I crossed the road and approached.

_Who do you think?_ "Um… hi," I said, the cold tingeing my cheeks pink, my breath tumbling out in a translucent mist.

"What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same," I answered, breathless from the cold. He only frowned, raising an eyebrow.

"I like standing on crunchy leaves," he stated.

"Me too," I said.

_Why was I having this conversation?_ I wondered, before his voice broke into my thoughts once more.

"You settling in okay?"

"Yeah."

We walked in silence towards the school, the wind bringing an occasional burst of cold, causing my hair to lift itself gently.

"You come this way often?" he asked after a few moments, looking down at me.

"I live close by. You?" I replied, my voice slightly shaky from the cold.

"I don't live far off," he admitted. "I don't come this way often, but my dad dropped me off here today before going to work,"

"I see." And that was that. Soon, we approached the school building, a familiar marble structure, and there we parted ways wordlessly. Just before I entered the school building though, I caught a glimpse of Senna running up to him and giving him a hug. He seemed unperturbed, and returned the hug, seemingly oblivious to her crazy feelings for him. Biting back a smirk, and wondering how long it would take Ichigo to realize what was going on, I stepped inside the building.

* * *

My morning passed in seemingly normal fashion, if you count Szayel being 'admonished' by Unohana-sensei and Rangiku flirting with Gin-sensei as normal. Even as my English class approached in the afternoon, shouts of 'faggot!' and 'pinky!' could be heard so frequently that teachers were handing out detentions simply out of sheer irritation. Sure enough, as I stood outside English, waiting for the bell to ring, I could hear Grimmjow complaining loudly about his six detention slips and missing his date for tonight.

After the bell rang, I entered the classroom and took my usual seat next to Ichigo, pulling out my now worn-out copy of _Othello_ from reading it so frequently. Beside me, Ichigo pulled out his copy, which may I add, looked even worse than mine.

"Hi," he said, looking straight at me. Before I could say anything, Kyoraku-sensei took his place at the front of the class, donning a shiny pink suit, sake in hand, his assistant Nanao-sensei glaring on at him in disapproval.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," he slurred in his usual flamboyant, tone. "Today… ah, we will continue reading…"

The reading continued for most of the lesson, with Senna shooting her usual glares at me, until there were about 20 minutes to go. As soon as the large hand of the clock hit 8, Kyoraku-sensei jerked awake, pulling his straw hat off his head, blinking rapidly before smiling widely. Nanao-sensei looked completely outraged and grabbed his sake, stalking off.

"Nanao-chaaaan!" he exclaimed playfully, pouting slightly, before regaining composure and turning to face the class.

"That will be all folks," he said, grinning, raising a hand to stop Emina, who was reading the parts of Desdemona, and Jack, who was reading the part of Othello. Both stopped, looking at each other in confusion, as did everyone else. Even Senna forgot to glare at me for a few moments.

"The reason I have stopped so early is because I ah… have a special announcement to make," he said, oblivious to the collective audible groans heard. It seemed obvious that Kyoraku-sensei saying that he had an announcement to make was _not_ a good thing.

"As you can see, we have nearly completed our first reading of _Othello, _a most charming, eloquent play by the master of plays himself, William Shakespeare! And in commemoration, or whatever you youngsters want to call it, you shall all be preparing a project for me to mark, out of 100. Each of you shall receive a grade. Best one gets a prize.

"I shall be allocating a theme to each of you, and you will prepare a project on how that theme is presented. Use anything you want, movie clips, audio, music videos, whatever. But you have to show me how that theme is presented, with _evidence,"_

Muttering ensued at these words, and it was obvious that nobody was entirely sure of what was happening. Sure enough, Senna was the first to raise her hand.

"Yes Senna-chan?" he cooed.

"Sensei, if there is…" she did a quick count, narrowing her eyes at me, "20 of us, then how will you allocate a theme to each of us? Isn't that a bit tough?"

"Oh, I didn't mention the exciting part, did I?" Kyoraku-sensei exclaimed, clapping his hands. "You will be completing these projects with a partner, and I expect you to work on this dutifully in your own time,"

I froze, surprised. _Partner?_ I was usually an independent worker, so the idea of working with a partner didn't quite appeal to me.

"Your partner… will be the person sat next to you," Kyoraku-sensei announced, with the excitement of a three-year old on Christmas Day.

I looked around at Ichigo, who seemed just as perplexed as I am, distantly noticing Senna's look of outrage, and an expression that immediately brought the expression _'If looks could kill…'_ to mind. He shrugged nonchalantly, turning back to Kyoraku-sensei.

"I expect these to be done in the third week of January, the Monday after you return from your Christmas breaks," Kyoraku-sensei stated, sounding a lot sharper than his usual airy-fairy self. "Class dismissed."

Feeling utterly bewildered and surprised, and I admit, slightly annoyed, I stood up, packing my books, before hearing my name. I turned to see Ichigo standing, looking just as confused I was.

"This is it, I guess," he said, with what sounded like exasperation. "We're project partners, so I suppose…"

"What?" I asked, my tone sounding slightly sharper than intended.

"I guess you'll have to come round to my place sometime? I got plenty of stuff on Shakespearean literature that might help," he added.

"Oh… I guess so," I answered, not oblivious to the simmering anger coming from Senna, which was so intense that I could almost feel the heatwaves from her. As usual, I ignored her.

He got out a pen and paper and quickly scribbled his address and mobile number, before handing it over to me.

"I'm free Friday, so um… how about you come over then? And that's my mobile number, in case you need anything," he spoke, his voice fluid and rapid.

However, before I could say anything more, he had swept his bag off the table and exited the classroom without further ado.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed that! I wanted to make a purely IchiRuki chapter, because since yesterday I've been in IchiRuki fangirl mode. I'm ALWAYS in IchiRuki fangirl mode, but this is just so... CRAZY. Anyway don't forget to leave your reviews!**

**~Tazski**


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